


Sea People

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 08:18:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7794304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jessica is discovered by a friendly human. Takes place before SSO.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sea People

Being washed up on the shore was a regrettably common occurrence for Jessica. She didn’t do it on purpose, at least not all the time, and yet it kept happening anyway. One minute she was swimming, the next she was caught up in a wave and deposited on the nearest shore like seaweed. At least she’d missed the cliffs this time.

Huffing out a sigh, Jess pulled herself up and then dragged herself over to some rocks to change back into her human form. A siren wouldn’t get anywhere on land, and the current was too strong for her to swim back out.

Jess realised her next problem as soon as the chilly wind threatened to freeze her solid. She had no clothes, of course, because one generally didn’t go swimming with clothes on. Great. All she needed was for a human to come by and see her, and then they’d think that she was some kind of pervert. Which she was, but that wasn’t why she was nude.

“Hello?” Jess swore silently at the sound of a male human’s voice. At least there was only one of them. But he could always call his friends. Her fingers dug into the sand as she hid behind the rocks. And then she laughed at herself, shaking her head. Why was she so scared? If that human tried anything, she could just eat him.

“Hi,” said Jess, peering out from behind her rock. She arranged her hair so that it was covering her chest.

“Oh, I thought I saw someone,” said the man. He had dark hair in the moonlight, and he looked young. But then, all humans looked young to an immortal. He paused. “Why are you naked?” Rather than use an excuse, Jess decided to tell the truth. He might believe her, or he might not.

“Because I’m a siren,” said Jess. “But don’t worry, I won’t hurt you unless you threaten me.”

“Okay.” The man took his long coat off and, though he shivered in the wind, he held it out to Jessica. “Here, you need this more than I do. You look cold.”

“You’re surprisingly nice,” said Jess. “Most humans run away screaming, or try to kill me, when they find out what I really am.”

“The sea people are generally kinder than the sea monsters,” said the man, turning away while Jess put his coat on and belted it around herself.

“Well, thank you,” said Jess. “I’ll be out of your hair as soon as the current changes or goes away.”

“Um, the current on the other side of the peninsula may be better,” said the man. “Or not, it depends on where you live. But you can stay the night if you need to.”

“Okay. But if you try to take advantage of me, I will kill you,” said Jess.

“I won’t,” said the man. “Come with me, my cottage is on the other side of the peninsula.”

Jessica followed the man across the heath, the soft grass feeling wonderful underfoot. It certainly felt better than the gritty sand had. There was just the odd pile of manure to avoid here and there, and-

“Woah, are you okay?” Jessica’s first instinct was to struggle away from the arms holding her up, but then the man just helped her to her feet and let her go.

“Yes, just… wasn’t looking where I was going,” said Jess. That root had literally come out of nowhere, though.

“Ah, that’s the Ancient Tree. It’s dying,” said the man. The waves of pure hatred emanating from the tree made Jess shiver, and she stumbled again. She had to shake another root off her ankle, too. Stupid trees. Why Aideen couldn’t have had sentinels that were anything else was a mystery.

“Does it always have roots shooting out of the ground like this?” asked Jess. She tried to put her foot back on the ground, but another root burst out and tried to catch her ankle so she jumped away from it quickly.

“Not like this.” The man frowned. “But it won’t let you pass. It grants wishes so I don’t know why it’s doing this.”

“It doesn’t like me,” said Jess as she wrenched her other ankle out of the tree’s hold. “Ow.” That had hurt, a lot.

“Hmm. Strange. But I have a solution,” said the man. With that, he picked up Jessica and held her cradled in his arms. It was a new sensation for the siren, being in someone’s arms like this. She felt safe, though. It was like being cradled by the ocean.

“This works,” said Jess. “I just hope the tree doesn’t come after you next.”

“I don’t think it will,” said the man. He started off across the land again, and soon they were past the tree and descending into the cosy little place where he lived. He set Jess down at the door, and she rolled her ankle around, wishing for the healing to hurry up. Broken ankles were such a pain.

“This is a nice little place,” said Jess, leaning against the wall as she looked around. There were a few horses around, small ones grazing or drinking from troughs.

“It’s just me and the wild horses here,” said the man, finally getting his door unlocked and opening it. Warm, yellow light spilled out, and Jess began to walk inside before her ankle jolted in pain and almost made her fall. The man caught her again. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, the tree just broke my ankle. But don’t worry, it’s healing,” said Jess.

“Oh, but I can’t leave you in pain,” said the man. “Come on, I’ll help you walk.”

They moved into the house, Jess hopping along at the man’s side, until they reached the kitchen. There, Jess sat down at the little table and the man filled a kettle with water and moved it over the kitchen fire.

“Wait here, I’ll get you some clothes and a blanket,” said the man. “I know that your kind can probably handle the cold just fine, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t feel it.”

“Thank you again,” said Jess. She was cold, and now her ankle was throbbing too. But she couldn’t get her mind off those horses. They were beautiful, and for the first time she wanted one of her own. Her sisters had one each, but she’d never been interested in horses.

“Here you are,” said the man, returning to the kitchen and putting a pile of clothing and a blanket on the table. He moved over to the kitchen fire to retrieve the whistling kettle, and then put some herbs in one cup and normal tea in the other. They both smelled equally nice when he poured hot water over them, though.

“So, your horses… do you ever give them away?” asked Jess, putting her hands around the cup automatically.

“I prefer to sell them,” said the man. “Not that I get many visitors, the waters here are too treacherous for travel and the bridge to Epona is broken again.”

“Damn, I don’t carry money in this form,” said Jess, and sighed, looking into her cup. She was used to herbal remedies for pain and other such things from her family’s association with witches.

“Well… I suppose that I could allow you to take a horse from the beach,” said the man. “But what does a siren want with a horse, anyway?”

“It’s a long story,” said Jess. “But thank you for the offer. And the tea. And the house and clothes and help.”

“Well, I couldn’t very well leave a girl alone on the beach, now, could I?” said the man. “Anyone could have taken you.”

“You probably don’t know what I really am,” said Jess. This man was too kind to know the truth. “I’m more than just a siren.”

“Shh. Don’t worry about that now,” said the man. “Just drink your tea and get warm and dry and dressed. And then we can talk.”

“Okay,” said Jess. She sipped at her tea. It was slightly bitter from the painkilling herbs, but she knew that she’d feel a hell of a lot better later.

They talked all night, sitting in the man’s kitchen and drinking tea. Jessica wasn’t used to such gentleness or kindness. She began to suspect that he knew what she really was, but if he did, he didn’t mind.

The next morning, Jessica left the man’s cottage with him and sat in a boat as he rowed her out to where the water was deeper.

“Will I see you again?” asked the man after Jess had dived into the water and changed back into her true form.

“Perhaps,” said Jess. And she did want to see him again. He was so kind, and he’d listened to her talk. She hadn’t given away too much, though.

“I hope so,” said the man. He smiled at her, his cheeks slightly pink. “And remember, only take one horse.”

“I will,” said Jess. “Thank you again for everything.” And she disappeared beneath the water, swimming back to the oil rig. Her tail had looked black when he’d first seen her, but now in the sun he saw deeper colours glimmering in it. Greens and purples.

She returned the next night, though. And the next. Sometimes she didn’t come, but she yearned for him then. Sometimes the seas were just too rough. And they always talked in the same place, sitting at the kitchen table talking until the sun brightened the world. 

As the years passed, their talks turned to more intimate matters. He learned early on what she really was, but he didn’t care. She was on the ‘wrong’ side of the war, he knew. But that didn’t matter. He proved it by kissing her.

Years after they’d first met, the siren had to stay in his cottage for a longer amount of time. She’d wanted to before, but now she had a very good reason. A pregnant siren was, after all, easy pickings for a larger predator. And she wanted to bring their child up on land.

Even after the child was grown, Jessica still visited her human. She took a barge there, now, stowing away on it and then sneaking away while the goons were busy chasing and capturing horses. Her human son often came to his father’s cottage when they met, but he stopped after he took a wife of his own. While he aged, she did not. They’d known that this would happen from the start. But she would never love him any less, even as his body aged and became frail. It was the curse of immortality, but now she could still watch her son and his children and grandchildren grow up. She protected them all, but only from mortal danger. Making mistakes was all a part of the human condition, after all. And she loved her human dearly. And every morning, the man watched as his siren swam away with her black scales glimmering green and purple in the sun.


End file.
